Athletics News

Johns Hopkins to Induct 11 Into Athletic Hall of Fame

March 3, 2015
BALTIMORE, MD -- Johns Hopkins University will induct 11 new members into its Athletic Hall of Fame in ceremonies scheduled for Saturday, April 25. The 11-member class will be the 21st to be inducted since the Johns Hopkins Athletic Hall of Fame was formed in 1994 and raises the total number of members to 168. The group will be honored at induction ceremonies scheduled to take place at 6:00 pm in the Newton White Athletic Center on the Johns Hopkins campus. Festivities will include a cocktail reception at 6 pm, the induction ceremony at 7:30 pm and a post-induction reception.

Individuals interested in attending the Johns Hopkins Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremonies can contact Tatiana Motevalli-Oliner in the Blue Jays Unlimited office to secure a reservation. She can be reached by phone (410/516-6132) or email (t.m.oliner@jhu.edu).

Below is a look at the 11 individuals who comprise the 2015 class of inductees for the Johns Hopkins Athletic Hall of Fame.

Steve Adams  Class of 2003 Basketball One of the most dominating post players in Johns Hopkins men's basketball history, Steve Adams left his mark on the program like few before or after him. Adams totaled 1,370 points and 645 rebounds during his career and ranked fourth in both categories when he graduated. He also ranked fifth in career field goal percentage (.583.), held the school record for career free throw attempts (555) and was second in career free throws made (368). Adams became the first player in school history to amass more than 1,300 points and 600 rebounds and he remains on of just two Johns Hopkins players to turn this trick. Adams' efforts on the court translated to him being one of the most decorated players in program history. He earned All-Centennial Conference honors three times, including first team honors twice, grabbed Second Team NABC All-Region honors as a senior and Second Team All-UAAs honor as a sophomore (Johns Hopkins left the UAA after that year). More than 10 years after graduating, Adams remains one of just three players in Johns Hopkins history to earn First Team All-Centennial honors twice and and one of just four to earn All-Centennial honors three times or more. Adams fueled a four-year run for head coach Bill Nelson's Blue Jays that saw them compile a record of 67-34, including a 35-17 mark in the Centennial Conference. The Blue Jays advanced to the conference championship game once and the semifinals once and also made one appearance in the ECAC Tournament during his career.

Scott Armstrong  Class of 2003 Swimming In the storied history of the Johns Hopkins men's swimming program, Scott Armstrong ranks among the all-time greats as he dominated in the distance events and helped the Blue Jays to one of the great four-year runs in school history. With Armstrong leading the way, Johns Hopkins earned four, top-five finishes at the NCAA Championships with a fifth-place showing his freshman year, a third-place finish when he was a sophomore and consecutive runner-up showings in his last two years. The second-place finishes in 2002 and 2003 were the highest for Johns Hopkins since the Blue Jays were runners-up in 1980 and 1981. Armstrong garnered All-America honors 18 times during his illustrious career. His 18 All-America finishes ranked 10th in school history when he graduated and still rank 14th more than 10 years after his career ended. Armstrong accumulated 11 top-four finishes in individual events at the NCAA Championships, including five runner-up finishes. He was also a member of five relay teams that finished second at the NCAA Championships to give him 16 combined top four finishes in relay and individual events. The success of the Johns Hopkins swimming program has continued, but Armstrong's presence in the Blue Jay record book is still prominent. Entering the 2014-15 season, he still held four of the top six times in school history in the 500 free, two of the top seven in the 1000 free and three of the top six in the 1650 free. He held the record in all three events when he graduated, still holds the record in the 500 and his marks in the 1,000 and 1,650 held until 2014.

Devin Balkcom  Class of 1998 Swimming In a program as successful as the Johns Hopkins men's swimming program has been, it's difficult to do things that stand out. Devin Balkcom did just that. Balkcom helped Johns Hopkins to four top-six finishes as the NCAA Championships with fifth, fourth, sixth and sixth-place showings during his career, while also guiding Johns Hopkins to four UAA Championships as well. In the pool, Balkcom earned All-America honors 22 times, the second most in school history at the time and still the fifth-best total ever by a member of the Johns Hopkins men's swimming team. Among the 22 All-America finishes for Balkcom were 19 first-team and three honorable mention showings. Johns Hopkins' streak of consecutive conference titles stretched from 1971 to 1998 and the final four of those 28 titles were won in large part because of Balkcom. Balkcom won a school record 19 conference titles during his career, including 15 relay titles and four individual championships; only one other individual in school history has even won 15 combined conference titles. Balkcom's extraordinary efforts in the pool were matched in the classroom as he twice earned First Team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. He was the first Blue Jay swimmer to earn Academic All-America honors twice and he remains the only two-time First Team Academic All-American in program history.

Kathy Darling  Class of 2003 Basketball, Track & Field Quite simply, Kathy Darling ranks among the greatest female athletes in school history as she left her mark on the Johns Hopkins track and field and women's basketball programs; imagine if she'd have been at Homewood for four years. Darling transferred to Johns Hopkins as a junior, yet her accomplishments in just two years stand out even among the outstanding female athletes that have represented both programs. Darling won the 2003 national championship in the discus and had four top two finishes at the NCAAs in the discus and javelin. In addition to winning the national championship in the discus as a senior, she was the runner-up in the event as a junior and the national runner-up in the javelin as a junior and senior. More than 10 years after her career end, Darling still holds the school record in both events with marks that haven't been threatened since she graduated. Darling's efforts in track came after she put together equally exceptional efforts in basketball. In just the two seasons, she scored 906 points and added 417 rebounds. She ranked 11th in school history in points and 12th in rebounds when she graduated and still ranks among the top 20 in both categories. She also holds the top two single-season field goal percentage marks (.640 and .607) and her career field goal percentage (.624) is 10 percent better than the next best mark (.524). To solidify her place in the annals of the all-time greats at Johns Hopkins, Darling excelled in the classroom. She earned First Team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors in track as a senior, when she was named the Women's Track Academic All-American of the Year. She was the first Johns Hopkins athlete - in any sport - earn Academic All-America of the Year honors and she added Second Team Academic All-America honors in basketball.

Nancy Funk Basketball & Tennis CoachNancy Funk recently completed her 29th season as the women's basketball coach at Johns Hopkins, a 29-year run that has been marked by outstanding team and individual accomplishments. Funk has compiled a 512-239 record during her time at Homewood, including a 287-76 record in Centennial Conference play. Including her time as the head coach Messiah, Funk has a record of 638-328 in 37 years as a collegiate head coach. She ranks sixth among active coaches and ninth all-time in career victories by an NCAA Division III women's basketball coach. In addition to ranking as the winningest coach in school history, Funk has won more Centennial Conference games, more Centennial Conference Tournament games (19) and more NCAA Tournament games (13) than any coach in league history. Johns Hopkins has won four Centennial Conference titles, played in the Centennial title game 14 times and appeared in the conference tournament 18 times since the league was formed in 1993. Funk's Blue Jays have parlayed the success at the conference level to the national level as Johns Hopkins has made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances with two trips to the NCAA Quarterfinals (1997, 1998) and one other trip to the Sweet 16 (1995) under her guidance. With the overwhelming success of the team has come the individual honors and awards. Funk has coached five All-Americans, two Naismith Award winners, two NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipients, one Academic All-American, a record 21 First Team All-Centennial selections and four Centennial Players of the Year. In addition to her exploits as the Blue Jay women's basketball coach, Funk also spent six years as the Johns Hopkins women's tennis coach from 1986-1992 and compiled a record of 35-32.

Stephanie Harbeson Swimming There is a very short list of individuals whose name is mentioned in the discussion of the greatest women's swimmers in school history; Stephanie Harbeson is one of those individuals. Harbeson led Johns Hopkins to eighth, fifth, fifth and ninth-place finishes at the NCAA Championships during her career with the back-to-back fifth-place finishes ranking as the highest in school history until 2014. Harbeson accumulated 22 All-America finishes at the NCAA Championships, a total that ranked as the second-highest total in school history and just one shy of the school record at the time. More than 10 years after she finished her career, her 22 All-America honors still rank third. She earned the maximum seven All-America finishes as a freshman and junior and totaled six top-three finishes in individual events during her career, including three runner-up showings. A quick glance at the Blue Jay record book finds that Harbeson is still the gold-standard among Johns Hopkins' distance swimmers. She remains the school record-holder in the 500, 1000 and 1650 free and holds the top five and seven of the top nine times in the 1650. In addition, she still holds three of the top four and five of the top 10 times in the 500 and five of the top nine times in the 1000. Harbeson's success wasn't limited to the NCAA Championships as she was the UAA Swimmer of the Year as a freshman and sophomore, the only two years Johns Hopkins competed in the UAA during her career. She helped Johns Hopkins to a pair of runner-up finishes at the UAA Championships as a freshman and sophomore.

Jamie Larrimore LacrosseJamie Larrimore came to Johns Hopkins as a member of the school's first Division I recruiting class in women's lacrosse. She left four years later as one of the most accomplished players in school history and as one of the key elements in Hopkins' smooth transition from Division III to Division I. Larrimore's name is visible throughout the Blue Jay record book as she was one of the best pure scorers to play at Homewood. She ranks sixth in school history in points (253), third in goals (198) and 11th in assists (55). She led the team in goals scored in each of her final three seasons and in points as a senior. She remains one of just two players in school history to score 40 or more goals in four different seasons and holds the Johns Hopkins Division I record for consecutive games with a goal (38). Larrimore became the first Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse player to earn All-America honors at the Division I level as she grabbed Third Team IWLCA All-America status as a junior. She earned First Team All-American Lacrosse Conference honors as a senior, when she also participated in the North-South Senior All-Star game. Larrimore helped lead Johns Hopkins to a four-year record of 43-24 and three appearances in the ECAC Division I Women's Lacrosse Tournament. Johns Hopkins won the ECAC title during Larrimore's junior year for the first title of any kind in Johns Hopkins' Division I women's lacrosse history.

Bill Nelson Basketball & Tennis CoachBill Nelson is in his 29th season as the men's basketball coach at Johns Hopkins and has guided the Blue Jays to unprecedented success during his time at Homewood. Johns Hopkins has compiled a record of 470-289 under Nelson's guidance. Coupled with his 105-64 record before arriving at Johns Hopkins, Nelson ranks 11th among active NCAA Division III men's basketball coaches in career victories and he stands 18th all-time in Division III history. In addition to ranking as the winningest coach in school history, Nelson ranks second in Centennial Conference history in league victories (221), Centennial Conference Tournament victories (12) and NCAA victories (5). Johns Hopkins has won three Centennial Conference titles, played in the Centennial title game nine times and appeared in the conference tournament 15 times since the league was formed in 1993. Including the 2014-15 season, Nelson has guided Johns Hopkins into the NCAA Tournament 10 times, with a trip to the Sweet 16 in 1990. The Blue Jays made five consecutive trips to the NCAAs from 1990-94. In addition to the success the Blue Jays have enjoyed on the court, the list of individual honors and awards Johns Hopkins players have accumulated since Nelson arrived is as long as it is impressive. Nelson has coached two All-Americans, four NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipients, seven Academic All-Americans, 12 First Team All-Centennial selections and three Centennial Conference Players of the Year. Johns Hopkins' four NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipients in the 1990s were the most of any men's baskstball program in the nation at any level during that time. Nelson also spent eight years as the men's tennis coach at Johns Hopkins and guided the Blue Jays to a 62-48 record.

David Perna Football The Johns Hopkins football program has produced some of the top offensive linemen in Centennial Conference history. David Perna, who starred for the Blue Jays from 1996-99, earned his way onto that select list of standout linemen with a career matched by few. Perna became the first Johns Hopkins offensive lineman under current head coach Jim Margraff to earn All-America honors as he grabbed third team status as a senior in 1999. Perna was a fixture on the All-Centennial Team as he grabbed first team honors in each of his final three years. He remained the only Johns Hopkins offensive lineman to earn first team honors three times until 2013. Among Blue Jay players at all positions, he is one of just eight to earn first team honors three times. With Perna leading the way, Johns Hopkins produced the top two rushers in school history in Don Zajick and Adam Gentile and Gentile became the first running back in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Collectively, the Johns Hopkins offense produced some of the top statistical seasons in school history during Perna's career. Hopkins' 28.8 points per game in 1998 ranked as the third-highest single-season average in school history at the time, while the 378.8 yards of total offense the Jays averaged in 1999 ranked second. Johns Hopkins averaged over 190 yards per game rushing in 1997 and 1999 and set a then school record with 20 touchdown passes in 1998. Perna's efforts also translated to team success as Johns Hopkins posted 7-3 records in 1997 and 1998 with those seven wins tying the school record for wins in a season at the time. Hopkins played for the Centennial Conference title in the final game in each of those seasons and posted a combined record of 24-15-1 during Perna's career.

Yani Rosenberg BaseballYani Rosenberg graduated from Johns Hopkins in 2002 having established himself as one of the top pitchers in the storied history of the Blue Jay baseball program. More than 10 years after leaving Homewood, he is still the benchmark by which Hopkins pitchers are measured. Rosenberg posted a 28-4 record with a 2.30 ERA and 260 strikeouts during his career. He remains the school record-holder for career strikeouts and ranks third in both career victories and ERA. Rosenberg dominated the opposition, especially during his final two seasons, when he won 17 straight decisions at one point. He is the only pitcher in school history to twice have an ERA below 1.55 (1.32 and 1.52) and is also the only pitcher to record 70 or more strikeouts in three different seasons. With his performance on the mound came the honors and awards. He was twice a Second Team ABCA All-America selection and he remains the only pitcher in school history to twice earn All-America honors. A three-time ABCA All-Region pick, he also earned Centennial Conference Pithcer of the Year as a junior and senior, when he also was named First Team All-Centennial. In all, he was named All-Centennial three times, All-UAA twice and All-ECAC once. Like many of the other outstanding baseball players in school history, Rosenberg's performance translated directly into team success as he helped Johns Hopkins to a pair of Centennial Conference titles and two trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2001 and 2002.

Philip "Pete" Swindell Lacrosse There is a select group of Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse players who have earned First Team All-America honors three times; Pete Swindell is among that group. Swindell played at Johns Hopkins from 1934-37 and garnered First Team All-America honors as a standout defenseman in 1935, 1936 and 1937. He was the first Blue Jay defenseman to earn first team honors three times and he remains one of just six defenders to do so. Overall, he is one of just 21 Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse players at any position to earn first team honors three times. Swindell served as a team captain as a junior and senior and represented the United States in international competition three times during his career at Homewood; the United States played against Canada in 1935 and 1936 and England in 1937. Swindell, who played for legendary coach Kelso Morrill during his career at Homewood, was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1984.